Being someone who was homeschooled throughout elementary and middle school. Going into high school for the first time was stressful. While everyone knew each other from earlier middle school years. Everyone seemed to pick up right after middle school, but I was starting fresh. I remember constantly looking at my schedule paper like it was a lifeline, pretending to be busy so no one would notice how out of place I felt. While masks covered a lot of faces, it did not show discomfort in how people saw one another. That year taught me that literacy wasn’t just books and essays, but it was even learning how to fit in, reading people’s gestures and finding my place in a community.

Throughout high school, I am a bit ashamed to admit I did not have a lot of friends till senior year. But that government class of my last year really sparked something inside of me. Instead of following the textbook, my teacher told us to ask any questions we had about the world or for what was ahead of us, and to never hold back even if you believe the answer is completely wrong. For the first time since I entered high school, I felt free. I quickly became the most active student in the class and felt in the right place. That class gave me more than knowledge about politics or current events, it gave me a voice. I learned that language is power, that questions can be just as valuable as answers, and that speaking up could open doors I didn’t know existed.

Growing up, family gatherings were challenging to deal with. While my dad’s side mostly spoke english, my mom’s was made mostly of native bengali speakers. As the oldest from my mom’s side, I would always just stick beside my mother and be on my phone. My cousins were young and knew one another, while I felt like a stranger. On my dad’s side, I was the youngest. While most of my cousins would talk about college and their futures, me, who was a young teenager, could only sit and hear what stories they had to tell. But I eventually learned that literacy wasn’t just language. I didn’t need perfect bengali or the life experience of older relatives to connect. Instead, I found my own way to join in: asking about food, sharing my hobbies, laughing at small things that crossed the language barrier. Slowly, I realized that communication could take many forms: curiosity, humor, and even silence.

Extended Vignette

Making friends in high school was hard. As someone who was homeschooled prior to high school, I had a difficult time talking to people and making friends. That also affected my participation in class, I was afraid of being incorrect and looked by people differently. Even sometimes when I knew the correct answer, the voice in the back of my head kept telling me otherwise. It was a curse that stuck with me throughout high school, from intimidating English teachers to doing homework questions on the whiteboard. Many of my classmates had the courage to do it, some because of their friends in class, laughing/helping when they made a mistake. While others would be the main character of the class and disagree with the teacher if their mistake was pointed out, leading to a funny little act. I never got to experience any of that until my senior year. Before then, I’ve had a handful of people i talked to that i met in freshman year. I figured this year would be no different, and I was graduating soon anyways so who cares. That was until i entered my government/economics class on the first day. Once we got seated, my teacher, lets say his name is Mr. Taylor, turned off the smartboard and told us “While this is a class, I won’t pressure you guys too much. It’s your senior year and you’ll be dealing with college applications and whatnot, you deserve to breathe. I’m here to prepare you for college and the real world. There won’t be any exams or homework. Your grades will depend on your attendance, projects, and participation.” At first ,i thought it was just another free period, another obstacle out of the way before i graduate. But at the same time, what if I gave a genuine effort this time. What do i have to lose? It’s my last year here so who cares. I’m not going to be seeing a lot of these people son aways, and that was the best decision i made. I participated so much that Mr. Taylor would get pissed and say “you’ve done more than enough for the day, give some other people a turn.” And I’d respond with a joke being like “this isn’t fair!”. I began to notice a lot of people began to speak up as well. When I would get something incorrect, someone else would answer it correctly and we’d argue who is really correct. From the first week of silence to half way through the year where everyone was friends with one another. I never saw this happen ever in a classroom. I can say that this class alone made up for everything I missed out on the past 3 years. We created a class group chat without him knowing and pulled pranks/stunts on him the entire year. On Halloween, we had a debate while dressed up in Halloween costumes. On Valentine’s Day, which was also Mr. Taylor’s Birthday, we all bought him large bouquets of flowers each. On April Fools, i pied him in the face and got pied back. He did exactly what he said, make an environment that wouldn’t add to the stress of our senior year, but in fact reduce it. Because of him, I was able to create long-lasting friendships not just in his classroom, but also take that energy and apply it to other classes. People in my other classes were jealous they weren’t apart of my government class. He showed me that literacy isn’t just raising my hand and being correct, but to raise it regardless of what i know and open new doors.